Sunday, May 24, 2015

Antibiotic Resistance- From Farm to Family

The video is concise and informative and highlights how the massive use of low dose antibiotics as 'production tools' (to make animals grow faster) rather than as therapeutic agents leads to the emergence of drug resistant pathogens. Darwinian evolution to the core.With animal overcrowding in feedlots cross transmission is easy. Downstream transmission to humans is the next step.Antibiotics are societal drugs, the misuse of these agents impacts more than just the immediate users.The answer is not new antibiotics, the system of antibiotic overuse (both in food animal production and in healthcare settings) must be addressed.This is the call to action- both daunting and essential for the preservation of antimicrobials.